


Simon Snow doesn't know how to drive

by keepyourvoiceconstant



Category: Carry On - Rainbow Rowell
Genre: (Get it? Like Simon snow), Car rides, Fluff, M/M, Pining, Simon flirts his way out of problems, Snow Day
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-25
Updated: 2018-03-25
Packaged: 2019-04-08 04:25:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,864
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14097165
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/keepyourvoiceconstant/pseuds/keepyourvoiceconstant
Summary: Simon Snow finds himself in a deserted airport in Edinburgh, about 400 miles away from the final that he needs to take the next day. As luck would have it he stumbles across another boy in the same predicament, except the other boy can actually drive.Basically it's a mini road trip through a snowstorm (side note highly dangerous do not try at home) during which Baz is gay and Simon is clueless.





	Simon Snow doesn't know how to drive

**Simon**

Of course this had to happen today.

Today of all fucking days.

Today, the day before my final which I needed to pass if I wanted to earn this stupid fucking diploma (and I quite obviously can't pass an exam I haven't taken.)

And today also being the day when an unprecedented snowstorm hits the UK, leaving me unable to travel from Edinburgh to London to take my stupid fucking exam.

In hindsight, this was probably all my own fault. If I hadn't left all my revision to the last three days before the exam maybe I wouldn’t have been so distracted, and maybe I would have turned on the news or checked my phone and somehow discovered this fucking storm was supposed to hit and therefore not ended up standing here, through airport security and watching helplessly as every single green "delayed" symbol on the departures board winked into a red "cancelled".

I also wouldn't have ended up with an extremely panicked Penny on the phone.

"It's your last final, Simon! As in the one exam on you will ever have to take from this point onwards in your life which will ever matter!" I rubbed my temples in frustration.

"I know that, Penny. I know I have to make it home, so you can stop telling me that and help me come up with a way of actually getting there."

"Are the trains still running?"

"Only up until midday, and the next train scheduled for London is at half two this afternoon."

"And you're absolutely certain there aren't any taxis at all?"

"Not a single one."

"This is why you should have learned to drive when I did, Simon. At least then you could have rented a car and driven yourself down."

"Not helpful, Penny."

"It's true, though."

It was, as much as I hated to admit it.

"Look, Penny, this is pointless. I'm going to figure out a way of getting down there. You just go back to your studying and I'll call you in an hour." She sighed down the phone. I could practically picture the face she had made. I'd probably caused her to sigh more times in the last four years since we'd met than ever before in her life.

"Fine, Simon," she said in a flat tone before she hung up the phone up on me.

The pain in my head was growing steadily worse. I was debating walking back to the duty free to buy some paracetamol when a surprisingly familiar voice sounded from behind me.

"Snow?"

I turned in confusion to see who was most likely the last person on earth I wanted to speak to in that moment.

"Of course! Of course this situation has to become that little fucking bit worse by forcing me to run into you. What the fuck are you doing here, Baz?" He raised one eyebrow.

"This is an airport, and we have an exam in under twenty four hours, so I think you can safely assume I'm trying to fly back to London. I know you're dense, but it shouldn't be too hard for even you to figure out." He was wearing jeans. Who flies in fucking jeans? Prick.

My head was pounding too badly to even bother thinking of a response to him, so I just resorted to glaring at him, though I imagined the severity of it had been strongly reduced by the fact that I probably looked like I hadn't slept in days. I continued rubbing my temples.

“You look like absolute shit, Snow.”

"Thanks. Do you have any paracetamol? Or ibuprofen? Or, like, any medicine at all?" He smirked at me slightly but swung his bag off his shoulders regardless and started searching, before producing a slightly flattened blue cardboard box from its depths. I accepted it graciously, though without looking at him, and popped two tablets out of the foil wrapper before handing it back. Baz visibly winced as I swallowed them dry.

"How're you planning on making it back to London if your plane has been cancelled? I know for a fact you can't drive, thanks to that whole debacle with Penny last year."

"No idea. You?"

"I might rent a car, but I don't know if the motorways are open." Baz can drive?

"Since when have you had a license?"

"Since I was 18. It's quite useful, actually. You should consider learning."

"Fuck off." Baz rolled his eyes at me. He did that a lot. I think I warranted it the majority of the time though. Much like Penny with the sighing. And Agatha with the pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Alright then, Snow. I'm going to go find the rental desk. You google whether the roads are open or not and if you promise not to speak and I can find a car I might give you a ride back." I scoffed, before looking up at him. He always tilts his head when he's being sarcastic, but he hadn't done it just there.

"Seriously?" Another eye roll.

"Yes, seriously. I still have a year left in my course and I don't fancy having to continue sharing a room with you when you inevitably have to repeat the year due to the fact that you missed the most important exam of the course, so I think we would both benefit from your speedy return to the city and ability to take your final." Of course he has a reason to offer me a ride which is based purely on himself, the selfish bastard.

"Alternatively, you could just possess the ability to empathise with me and want me to make it back for this exam to save me from the stress missing it would cause?" A third eye roll.

"Except I don't care about you that much." He started to walk away towards the escalators leading down to the arrivals level, where all the car rental desks were, yelling over his shoulder, "Start googling!"

Dick.

** Baz **

When I first saw Snow staring at the departures board looking disheveled and utterly miserable, it made me want to laugh.

It was almost like an automatic reaction. Snow isn't happy, so you should be happy. Maybe that had applied a few years ago, but not so much now.

And then he turned around and my heart skipped a beat because he just looked so exhausted. He hadn't bothered with his contacts and so was wearing glasses with thin brown frames, which did absolutely nothing to hide the black and blue staining under his eyes.

And I'd opened my mouth to ask if he was okay, but what actually ended up coming out was "You look like shit, Snow."

True, but not what I had intended to say.

And then we had a conversation during which I offered him a ride home to London, which I probably wouldnt have done if I had been thinking the situation through, but I got distracted by the fact that one of his curls had become tucked underneath his glasses and was stuck on his cheek.

And that's how I ended up here, having a full-blown argument with the bored looking twenty-something year old woman at the car rental desk over whether or not it was reasonable to expect me to drive a car through this snowstorm and not end up crashing in a ditch somewhere.

"I'm pretty sure I'm not even legally allowed to rent you a car if you're planning on driving it to your immediate death, sir."

"And I'm pretty sure that if I have a license you can just give me the car. It's urgent; I have to get back to London by tomorrow morning." Suddenly, Simon appeared from behind me, beaming like he'd won the fucking lottery.

"All the motorways are cleared and salted. It should only take us about ten hours to get back. Did you get a car?" I looked away from his face again, partially to glare at the staff member and partially because Simon Snow wearing his fucking glasses was already difficult enough to look at without wanting to punch or kiss him.

"No, I haven't got a car." His brow furrowed in confusion, before he smirked and winked at me quickly before turning to face the woman behind the desk.

Jesus.

"Is it because of the snow? Because I get that it's dangerous and all that but we really, really badly need to get back to London tonight." He opened his eyes wide as he began to speak, before smiling just enough to let his dimples show. The worker flushed, the colour creeping up her neck and spreading to her cheeks as she began to stutter.

"Well, I-I'm not supposed to - I mean - the snow is pretty heavy..."

"I know, but it's an absolute emergency. My last final is tomorrow morning, and if I miss it they might make me repeat the whole year because our professor is really strict about deadlines, and I was planning on going to Europe." It was virtually impossible to pinpoint exactly what Snow was doing, but it involved raising his eyebrows, lowering his voice slightly and leaning in towards the desk. Whatever it was, it seemed to be having a strong overall effect on this poor girl, who appeared enraptured by his presence.

"Well... maybe if its an emergency I could give you a car?" I stared at Snow, dumbfounded.

"Thank you so much! You're a lifesaver, honestly." She turned even redder (if it was at all possible), and scoffed lightly, mumbling out something along the lines of "It's no probelm, really," and busying herself with her computer.

A few minutes later, I was walking away with the keys in my pocket.

“So? Pretty impressive, was it not?” Snow asked. I shrugged.

“I was working away at her. She was right about to give it to me.”

“Sure she was. You're lucky I was there, or else you'd still be stuck here arguing with her.”

“Well, at least I can argue a situation instead of resorting to seduction to get my way. You're lucky you have a pretty face, or else we'd both still be stuck here arguing with her.” My blood froze as I realised what had just happened.

I told Snow he was pretty.

Fuck.

He paused and laughed it off, holding the door open for me as we exited the main building towards the car park. I was pretty sure I had imagined the hitch in his breath on the word pretty, but I ignored that thought and focused on looking for this godforsaken car.

Twenty minutes later we reached the opposite end of the car park where a shiny but old looking Toyota was parked. Snow held out the keys and pressed the button and the car doors audibly clicked open.

“Finally,” I exhaled. Snow opened the car boot and flung his bag in with the lack of grace I had begun to associate with him several years prior. I placed mine in more carefully and shut the boot.

“Back seat, Snow.” He happily popped open the passenger seat door and clambered into the car.

What a wanker.

**Author's Note:**

> Part 2 comin up!! Stay tuned


End file.
